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California store owner fatally shot in dispute over Pride flag; officers kill gunman
![California store owner fatally shot in dispute over Pride flag; officers kill gunman California store owner fatally shot in dispute over Pride flag; officers kill gunman](https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/dcac1a4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/700x394%200%2028/resize/1440x810!/quality/90/?url=https://assets.apnews.com/90/29/4e3c1cc7446089a9101a7bdff4c8/defaultshareimage-copy.png)
CEDAR GLEN, Calif. (AP) — A California business owner was shot and killed after a dispute over a LGBTQ Pride flag displayed outside her store, according to authorities.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials said Laura Ann Carleton, 66, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting Friday night.
Sheriff’s officials said that during the initial altercation at Carleton’s clothing store, the suspect “made several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside the store before shooting Carleton.” He then fled the scene.
Deputies were able to locate the armed suspect and he was fatally shot after a confrontation with the officers. The man had not been identified as of Sunday.
Carleton, who preferred to be called “Lauri,” is survived by her husband and nine children in a blended family. She owned and operated the Mag.Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen. The unincorporated community in the San Bernadino Mountains is roughly 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles.
An LGBTQ group in nearby Lake Arrowhead said Carleton didn’t identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but spent time helping and advocating for everyone and was defending her Pride flags placed in front of her shop on the night of the shooting.
Law enforcement agencies in several states have investigated the destruction of rainbow Pride flags as potential hate crimes in recent years.
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World
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World
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro wins re-election, as opposition disputes results
![Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro wins re-election, as opposition disputes results Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro wins re-election, as opposition disputes results](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/07/venezuelapres.png)
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner of the country’s presidential election on Sunday after securing more than 50% of the vote, although the opposition contends that the results are not accurate.
The National Electoral Council said at around midnight that Maduro received 51% of the vote, while the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González, had 44% support, according to The Associated Press.
Elvis Amoroso, head of the National Electoral Council, said the results were based on 80% of voting stations and represented an irreversible trend.
Despite Maduro being declared the winner of a third term, the opposition claimed victory, setting up a showdown with the government over the results.
EXPERTS FEAR VENEZUELA’S MADURO COULD STEAL SUNDAY’S ELECTION AS OPPOSITION LEADS IN POLLS
President Nicolás Maduro adjusts his glasses to mark his ballot for the presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP)
The electoral authority, controlled by Maduro loyalists, did not immediately publish the results from each of the 30,000 polling booths across the country, impeding the opposition’s ability to challenge the results after alleging it only had data for about 30% of the ballot boxes.
“The Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened,” González said.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado claimed González’s margin of victory was “overwhelming.” Machado said the opposition had voting results from about 40% of ballot boxes across the country and that more were expected overnight.
Officials and lawmakers in the U.S. and elsewhere expressed skepticism about the validity of Venezuela’s presidential election results after Maduro was declared the victor.
Speaking in Tokyo, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. has “serious concerns” about the announced outcome.
Blinken said the U.S. feared the result did not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people, and called for election officials to immediately release the full results. He also said the U.S. and the international community would respond accordingly.
VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS’ BARBARIC CRIMES COME AS MADURO REFUSES TO TAKE BACK ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM US
![Edmundo Gonzalez with his wife Mercedes Lopez](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/07/1200/675/gonzalez.png?ve=1&tl=1)
The opposition’s presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez waves as he leaves the polling station with his wife Mercedes Lopez, center, and daughter Mariana after voting in presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP)
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio wrote on the social media platform X that the “Maduro regime in #Venezuela has just carried out the most predictable and ridiculous sham election in modern history.”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font also wrote on X that “the delivery of the results of this transcendental election in Venezuela must be transparent, timely and fully reflect the popular will expressed at the polls.”
“The international community, of which Chile is a part of, will not accept anything else,” he said.
Opposition representatives in Venezuela said tallies they collected from campaign representatives at 30% of voting centers in the country showed González defeating the president.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
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